Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni has denied links to alleged rogue police officers and the criminal underworld, telling the Madlanga commission of inquiry that he has never hired izinkabi (hit men).
During his second appearance before the commission on Monday, 21 September, Sibanyoni sought to distance himself from allegations of criminal associations, saying his relationships with police officers and security service providers were legitimate.
“I emphasise, with clarity, that I have grown up with, known and associated with members of the South African Police Service. I have never associated with them for some improper motive or purpose.”
He said that although hit men were prominent in his line of business, he had never used one. He had deployed private security after surviving two attempts on his life.
Sibanyoni and his close associate, Bafana Sindane, have faced separate criminal proceedings involving allegations of extortion and money laundering brought by a mining businessman. The two were each released on R50 000 bail.
Separately, Sibanyoni and three co-accused are reported to be out on bail facing charges including extortion, murder and money laundering linked to an alleged protection racket in Mpumalanga.
Sibanyoni is also a witness in the attempted murder case against Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. He alleged that Matlala attempted to kill him at the behest of his rival and alleged Big Five cartel leader Jotham “King Mswazi” Msibi.
Sibanyoni challenged the commission’s identification of individuals mentioned in its evidence bundle, saying that it had conflated people with similar names or nicknames.
He disputed the identification of a person referred to as “Botsotso”, saying the individual mentioned in the commission’s evidence was not the same person he knew through his associate, Sindane.
“The real ‘Botsotso’ is a person whom I came to know through Mr Bafana Sindane. Botsotso and Bafana Sindane are married from the same household. It is his domestic connection that I came to know about Botsotso. Botsotso, to my knowledge, retired from the South African Police Service on 31 January 2025,” he said.
Sibanyoni said he did not know the person referred to as Botsotso in the commission’s evidence and did not recognise the phone numbers provided.
He also disputed the identification of a person referred to as “Bhokgolo”, saying the individual was not Calvin Mahlangu, the businessman and the owner of security company Gubis 85 Security Solutions which has various contracts with Tshwane municipality.
He said the Bhokgolo he knew was a warrant officer Mahlangu who shared Calvin Mahlangu’s surname.
Sibanyoni said he had instructed associates to hold meetings at his office in Centurion Golf Estate after receiving sustained threats to his life.
“The issuance of the estate access codes to persons named in the bundle, including WO [Warrant Officer] Mahlangu (Bhokgolo) and others must be understood in this security context,” he said.
“It does not evidence any impropriety; it evidences a practical security measure taken in response to a genuine threat environment.”
Sibanyoni said he did not personally know several individuals who were persons of interest to the commission and listed in the estate’s access records, among them Tlhako Thapelo Emmanuel, Piluda Molepo Elvis and Mashego Andrew Benjamin.
“I reiterate that while I have indeed issued access codes to various persons, I cannot be held responsible for the onward sharing of those codes by the recipients,” he said.
He said he was unaware of communications involving his associate Sindane and several persons of interest to the commission.